Fraud (Chokong): Section 341 of the Criminal Code

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การฉ้อโกง (ฉ้อโกง, chokong, also cheating in older translations) is the offence in Section 341 of the Thai Criminal Code of dishonestly deceiving a person by a false statement or by concealing facts that should be disclosed, and thereby obtaining property from that person or a third party, or causing them to make, alter or destroy a document of right. It is the charge behind most scam, deposit and investment complaints that foreigners bring to a Thai police station, and equally the charge foreigners most often face from a business partner who wants leverage in a civil dispute.

Elements and penalties under Sections 341 to 348

มาตรา 341 carries imprisonment of up to 3 years, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both. The prosecution must prove a deliberate deception, dishonesty, and property passing as a result; a promise that later fails is not fraud unless the intention to cheat existed at the time. Section 342 raises the penalty to 5 years and 100,000 baht where the offender impersonates someone or preys on a child or a person of weak mind. Section 343 covers public fraud, meaning a deception aimed at the public at large rather than a named victim, such as a fake online shop or an investment scheme, with up to 5 years and 100,000 baht.

Section 348 makes fraud against an individual a compoundable offence: the victim must complain within 3 months of learning of the offence and the offender, and can end the case by settling. Public fraud under Section 343 is not compoundable, so refunding the buyers does not withdraw the charge. Online frauds are usually also charged under Section 14(1) of the พระราชบัญญัติอาชญากรรมทางคอมพิวเตอร์ for entering false data into a computer system.

Reporting fraud and recovering money as a foreigner

A complaint is lodged with the inquiry official at the police station for the place where the deception or the payment occurred, or online through the Royal Thai Police reporting portal for technology crime. Bring the transfer slips, chat records, the counterparty’s bank account number and any identity details. The complaint must say that prosecution is wanted; a daily record entry to “keep on file” does not stop the 3-month clock.

Since the Emergency Decree on Technology Crime of 2023, a victim of an online transfer scam can call the Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre on 1441 and have the receiving bank suspend the account temporarily while a police report is filed; speed matters, because funds move through several mule accounts within hours. Money is recovered through a civil claim, either attached to the criminal case or as a separate tort action under Section 420, and through AMLO proceedings against the frozen assets.

Fraud, breach of contract and embezzlement compared

Not every unpaid debt or failed deal is fraud. A seller who takes a deposit and then cannot deliver has breached a contract; it becomes fraud only if the deception was there from the start, for example a condominium that was never the seller’s to sell. A fraud complaint used to pressure a debtor can rebound as a false-report charge. Embezzlement under Section 352 is the neighbouring offence: the accused already held the property lawfully, as an agent, employee or custodian, and then dishonestly converted it. Both carry the same 3-year maximum and both are compoundable, but the facts decide which is charged.

คำถามที่พบบ่อย

ดูเพิ่มเติม: compoundable offence, money laundering and AMLO, การขโมย, การละเมิด, and the guides กฎหมายเกี่ยวกับการฉ้อโกงและหลอกลวงในประเทศไทย และ wrong bank transfer: how to get your money back.